In the Hindu religion, Hanuman is the divine Monkey-King who came to the aid of Lord Rama when he battled with the demon Ravanna to rescue Sita. There are many stories of the power and devotion of Hanuman, and one of these is how, when he was very young, he tried to eat the sun.

It is said that little Hanuman was fascinated by the disk of the sun in the sky, and thought that it must a fruit – but a fruit of such light and beauty that it should be the most delicious fruit in the world! So one day, feeling hungry, he decided that he would fly up in the sky and eat that tasty fruit.

As he flew higher and higher toward the Sun, the gods became aware of his intention, and began to worry that this could cause harm to the Sun-god Surya. What if this young monkey actually did swallow the Sun? Then they called upon Indra, the ruler of heaven, to come to the aid of Surya, and Indra responded by sending a thunderbolt at Hanuman.

The thunderbolt struck Hanuman on the chin and knocked him back to earth, and some say that his name means ‘broken chin’. But Hanuman’s spiritual father, the wind god Vayu, was very angry at this treatment, and withheld all the air from the world. To pacify Vayu and restore order to the world, the gods all blessed the young Hanuman with blessings of invincibility, immortality, strength and wisdom.

Although young Hanuman did not eat the sun, later he became a devoted student of Surya, learning from him all the scriptures and martial arts, and even offering to accompany him in his journey across the sky every day, just to absorb his wisdom.